The background of the invention will be discussed in two parts:
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to animated figure toys, and more particularly to an animated figure toy with a mechanism for producing sound, such as by firing caps.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Toy figures having posable or movable articulated limbs are very popular with children, with some such figures being referred to as action figures. Action figures usually have some distinguishing characteristics, such as being configured as the super hero type of figure, and usually such figures are provided with action accessories, such as vehicles and the like to enable the child to configure an action setting.
Some such action figures are provided with mechanisms within the torso, usually spring-actuated, to enable some form of action such as throwing a punch, in response to the operation of some control means, such as a depressible lever or the like. Some such figures are provided with sound emitting devices with the emission of sound coinciding with the movement of some portion of the anatomy of the figure.
One such device is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,611, issued Sept. 7, 1976 to Strongin for a "Toy Figure With Pistol Draw Action", this device including an articulated figure with the appearance of a cowboy having a gun attached to the hand, with a holster at the side of the figure. Upon operation of a lever, the pistol is withdrawn from the holster and extended to a firing position and a noise simulating the firing of a pistol is generated substantially concurrently with the pistol attaining the firing position, the noise being generated by a striker contacting a sound drum at the proper moment.
Another animated figure toy is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,075, entitled "Cap-firing Arm for a Figure Toy", issued Jan. 8, 1980 to James, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. This patent discloses a figure having a mechanism within the arm for receiving a cap to be impacted by a spring-loaded hammer member, manually retractable by a lever passing through a slot in the arm. Other mechanism is provided and actuated by a depressible plate in the back of the figure to move the arm from a vertical position to a horizontal position, whereupon the hammer is released to fire the cap.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved articulated action figure with sound emission.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved cap-firing toy figure.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved toy figure with a capfiring mechanism acuated in response to relative pivoting of the upper and lower torsos with the cap being fired upon forward movement of an arm thereof to simulate the throwing of a punch and the sound associated therewith.